Bye Bye, Winamp … AOL Announces Dec. 20 Shutdown

Users who download Winamp before the shutdown can still use it

AOL (AOL) has announced that it will be shutting down once-beloved media player Winamp on Dec. 20.

A short message on the Winamp page says the shutdown will be all-encompassing, including Winamp.com as well as any other web services associated with the media player. Also, the application will no longer be available for download as of Dec. 20.

However, according to The Week, Winamp still can be used after the shutdown, but users must have it installed before the Dec. 20 deadline.

Winamp was developed by Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev in 1997, then picked up in popularity into the late 1990s and early 2000s. AOL acquired the media player in 1999 as part of its deal for Nullsoft, which was founded by Frankel and also included a streaming media server and an open-source installer system.

Winamp eventually was overshadowed by other media players, such as Apple’s (AAPL) iTunes.

The surprising part of the shutdown is that the media player still has a user base of millions of people worldwide that generates roughly $6 million in revenues for AOL annually.